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Sunland of Idaho 



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Ada, Cassia, Canyon, Elmore, Washington 



ISSUED BY 

BlIRtAlJ OF IMMIGRATION, LABOR AND STATISTICS. 



ALLEN MILLER, Commissioner. 

BOISE, IDAHO. 

1905. 

I 

H 

II 

TRIBUNE PRINT, CALDWELL, IDAHO. 



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•2— 



Greeting. 



THIS little book is a message and an invitation 
to all those who are held down by the ever in- 
creasing congestion of the old States. It brings tid- 
ings of marvelous opportunities for getting up in the 
world. It is especially addressed to the young and 
the energetic; to those who have the heart to venture 
and the will to conquer; to those who have desire 
and ambition to make a home and a name for them- 
selves worthy of American citizens. It is not for the 
idle, the shiftless or the improvident. To such, the 
land from whence this greeting issues is full of disap- 
pointments. 

Agriculture in all its branches has passed beyond 
the experimental stage in this section of the Arid 
West, but the era oi actual reclamation is just dawn- 
ing. Pioneering with its slow and labored progress, 
its crude but prophetic contrivances, its struggles 
and its pains is ended. Capital, science and states- 
manship are hastening to completion the great work 
wmich the pioneer dreamed oi as a remote though 
improbable possibility. 

For men of intelligence and industry, no part of 
the world holds richer or surer promise than the 
Sunland of Idaho. In past time, to some the prom- 
ise was not fulfilled. They came too soon, before 
conditions were ripe, but all who come now, in the 



— 3— 

fulness of time, that are capable, will achieve success 
far beyond expectation. Though this little volume 
is prepared by the Bureau of Immigration, Labor 
and Statistics of the State of Idaho, the point of 
view is that of the people of Sunland in their respec- 
tive localities. The story is told as the men and 
women who are transfiguring the wilderness tell it. 
To those who have never heard of Sunland, the story 
will be deeply interesting; to those who know of it 
only as it was thirty, ten or even three years ago, 
it will be a revelation; to all who would investigate, 
it will prove a safe and a valuable guide. 

There is no purpose here to entice immigration 
into this State. The object is to give information, 
under official seal, to all who may be seeking. Inves- 
tigation should precede investment. Any who may 
wish further or special information are cordially 
invited to communicate with the Commissioner of 
Immigration, Labor and Statistics, Boise, Idaho. 



The Sunland of Idaho. 

THE country lying along the general course of 
Snake river, embracing the counties of Cassia, 
Elmore, Ada, Canyon and Washington, comprising 
some 10,000 square miles, is appropriately called the 
Sunland of Idaho. 

Standing upon its eastern boundary in Cassia 
county, a dozen miles below American Falls, looking 
towards Washington county, 300 miles to the north- 
west, as far as the eye can reach extends a gray 
wilderness of sagebrush, unrelieved by tree or shrub 



_4— 

of green. Looking upon it thus, it requires no stretch 
ot fancy to imagine that in some tremendous convul- 
sion of nature a fragment of Sahara was lifted bodily 
and dropped into the lap of this continent. Desola- 
tion, solitude and waste are written all over it. No 
sound disturbs the stillness, no vagrant cloud ob- 
scures the sun, no breeze stronger than gentle fanning 
stirs the air. A dreary prospect; yet, in that gray 
sea of silence lives an indefinable charm. No spirit 
of lonliness dwells in the solitude, no ghost of de- 
spondency haunts the wilderness; but there comes 
over one, standing there, a sense of companionship 
and exhilaration strangely sweet and fascinating. 
The parched soil, the silence, the wilderness are all 
forgotten in contemplation of the pure air, azured sky 
and dancing sunbeams. Such might have been spok- 
en of Sunland but a few r years ago, such is true of 
much of it today. But the transformation, which 
for a long time progressed with slow, uncertain step, 
has now received a mighty impetus. Transfigura- 
tion is going forward by leaps and bounds. The 
wilderness of stunted, worthless vegetation is turn- 
ing to green fields and golden harvests. The magic 
is wrought by irrigation. Irrigation, on such 
magnificent scale as to render, by comparison, 
all former undertakings puny and insignificant. 
Mighty rivers dammed and diverted from their 
courses into great artificial channels. Thousands of 
miles of mains and laterals carrying the vitalizing 
waters to millions of thirsty acres. It is almost in- 
credible. But here are the living facts; green fields, 
blossoming trees, beautiful homes, churches, school 
houses, banks, stores, flourishing towns, thrifty vil- 
lages, electric lights, trolly lines, all growing, all 
prospering, all full of future promise and all in the 



midst ot the gray wilderness. The solitude is for- 
ever broken and in but a few years the transforma- 
tion from desert to paradise will be complete. 

In the work of world making, nature sel- 
Water dom finishes a job. She likes to leave 
something for man to complete. To Sunland she 
gave soil of surpassing richness and climate of won- 
derful geniality, then jumped the job; leaving the 
waters to meander aimlessly at the bottom of ravines 
and canyons, until coming together, they moved in 
a body toward the Pacific, cutting as they went a 
great sinuous gash, like the trail of a serpent, 
through the length of the land. Sunland is the best 
watered section in all the arid West. Running 
through it, from end to end, is the great Snake river 
into which, besides innumerable small streams, 
empty the Boise, Payette and Weiser rivers, each, in 
its course to the Snake, traversing a broad and fer- 
tile valley. It is not necessary to go back and follow 
man in his efforts to complete the job which nature 
left unfinished. Suffice it to say that the waters 
have been lifted out of the ravines and spread upon 
the slopes. Rivers have been dammed and diverted 
out upon the plains. And still the work goes on and 
will continue its progress until the wilderness is all 
reclaimed and filled with prosperous people. 

-.. Roughly speaking, the climate of Sun- 

land is the same throughout, there being 
and 50ll on jy suc j 1 variations as result from 
slight differences of altitude. From the eastern 
boundary in Cassia county, the country slopes grad- 
ually to the northwest. The winters are uniformly 
short and mild. Generally the winter runs about 



sixt3 T days, from the middle of December to the mid- 
dle of February, and consists of a dozen wet, windy 
days, four or five mild snow storms occupying in all 
six to ten days and the rest of the time, clear, freez- 
ing weather. Spring begins in February and pro- 
gresses gradually through sleet and rain to the first 
of March, then through showers and sunshine to the 
last of April, when the showers become less frequent 
and the air grows more genial until the arrival of 
summer, about the first of July. When summer 
comes, it comes all at once, whether ten days late 
or two weeks early, as sometimes occurs. There are 
no preliminaries. The temperature goes from 60 or 
70 to 80 or 100 in 24 hours without explanation or 
apology, and remains in that neighborhood until 
about the first week in September. Then it tails just 
as suddenly and unceremoniously, and Autumn is 
ushered in with a few daysol refreshing rain. People 
who say that the short summers of Sunland are not 
hot, either are not informed or they are very cold 
blooded. The nights, indeed, are cool, but irom 10 
o'clock in the morning until 7 in the evening it is 
mostly hot. To be sure there are cool days and 
occasional showers, but these grateful visitations 
are not frequent. The autumn though is perfect. 
From the middle of September on sometimes till 
near Christmas the days and nights are delightful 
beyond description. Early in October a slight inter- 
ruption is caused by equinoctial rains, after which 
the days again become clear and balmy, the fields 
take on the freshness and hue of spring, and ^11 
nature seems determined on cutting out winter en- 
tirely and going right on to another harvest time. 

Of the soil, little needs to be said. It c< n^ains 
every essential plant food, not supplied by sun and 



— 7— 

water. But in this climate, with abundance of 
water applied exactly when needed, and almost un- 
interrupted sunshine, vegetation does not bother 
itself about soil quality- Irrigation and sunshine 
would fertilize a concrete pavement in a short time. 

The diversion and application of water, 
irrigation though the beginning and end of practi- 
cal irrigation, need not here be considered, nor is it 
necessary to expatiate upon the results. These are 
solved problems and established facts constantly re- 
ferred to further along in this little volume. One 
important matter, however, has not been presented. 
One striking advantage of irrigation has not been 
pointed out. Reterence is made to what may be 
termed its inherent tendency towards cooperation and 
organization. Indeed cooperation is fundamental. 
The first step in any irrigation enterprise in vol \ n ; 
two or more holdings depending on one source of 
water supply is cooperative. The next is o ganiza- 
tion. Hence, in a very practical sense, an irrigation 
community soon becomes a well organized and 
thoroughly disciplined body of producers. Only one 
of the thousands of advantages of agricultural co- 
operation and organization will be here considered. 
Others will readily suggest themselves to thinking 
people. Next to production comes exportation. In 
an irrigation country like this the period of produc- 
tion beyond local consumption soon arrives, and the 
question of exportation becomes acute. Markets 
must be reached or the fruits of their toil will rot on 
the producers' hands. Markets c< n always be 
reached if transportation rates are not too high, and 
rates wall generally be too high for the small shipper. 
The individual farmer with a few r tons shipment is not 



—Sl- 
avery formidable customer. He does not inspire res- 
pect in the bosom of traffic managers. But when 
that same farmer is the representative of an organ- 
ized community of farmers with ten train loads to 
move, the situation is radically different. Traffic 
managers suddenly become very respectful and oblig- 
ing. They are seized with magnanimous yearnings 
to move the ''stuff," and they will move it at rates 
that will insure producers very satisfactory prices. 
A community in which cooperation is lundamental 
and to which organization is vital is soon educated 
to the advantages of combination in all dh'ections. 
From a board of irrigation directors to a board ol 
transportation directors is only a step, and the in- 
telligence which creates the former will not fail to 
produce the latter, nor in either will long be wanting 
that ability which spells success. 

_ . _ The great charm of life in Sunland is yet 
to be realized. It will come to full fruition 
Mate when the country is fully developed. It 

will be the social state founded upon a community 
interest and small farms. A considerable proportion 
of every irrigation farmer's capital will be his hold- 
ings in the irrigation system upon which he and his 
neighbors depend. That interest will draw them to- 
gether in business intercourse. Production by irri- 
gation is not according to area, but according to 
culture. One man's labor will produce as much 
profit on 20 acres as on 80. That means small 
farms, close neighbors, concentrated wealth, all the 
conveniences of the city with all the pleasures and 
advantages of the country. 



—10— 



ADA COUNTY. 

IS THE MOST THICKLY POPULATED COUNTY 
in Idaho. It has a low tax levy and a liberal val- 
uation of taxable property. Its area is 1500 square 
miles and its population is near 40,000. There are 
111,500 acres ol land subject to cultivation, 30,000 
acres already under cultivation, all under irrigation 
canals that furnish plenty of water. This shows at 
a glance what an Eldorado it is to the home-seeker. 

The total assessed valuation is about $9,000,000 
and the tax levy this year for County and State pur- 
poses is $1.85 on each hundred dollars. 

Principal are fruit culture, stock raising, dairying 
Industries and farming, but some very valuable gold 
mines are in operation near Boise, and more are be- 
ing discovered. State Mining Inspector Bell in his 
last report says: "While Ada county's contribution 
to the gold yield ol the State for last year was 
among the smallest amounts of any county report- 
ing gold, this county has a possible resource of pre- 
cious bullion that may outclass every other section 
of the State." 

The fame of Ada county fruit is national. At 
the Chicago and St. Louis fairs it took high premi- 
ums and was praised by people from all over the 
world. 



-li- 
lt produces under irrigation la~ge quantities of 
apples, peaches, apricots, pears, cherries, prunes, 
plums and all kinds of small fruits. Fine strawber- 
ries, second crop, are grown as late as October. 

Boise pears last season brought in New York 
from $7.00 to $9.00 a box of 50 pounds, breaking 
the world / s record for price. 

Its soil is especially adapted to sugar beet culture. 
Two crops of timothy and clover and three of alfalfa 
are grown, averaging from six to eight tons to the 
acre and selling from $5.00 to $10.00 a ton. The 
large number of sheep that winter in Boise valley 
furnish a ready and profitable market. 

The mining towns of Silver City, Boise Basin, 
Pearl, Neal and Thunder Mountain afford additional 
first class markets. 

Five or ten acres set out in fruit will make any 
family a handsome living. Twelve large canals, over 
200 miles in all, furnisn plenty of water at rea- 
sonable rates. Charges are from $1.25 to $1.50 per 
acre for water for the season. When a perpetual 
water right goes with the land, as is very frequently 
the case, the cost of the water is about half that. 

A gentleman living near Boise cleared $1,800 in 
one season from three acres of strawberries. 

From 330 pear trees another received last year 
over $3,000. 

Good improved lands can be had within ten miles 
of Boise at $50 to $75 per acre, unimproved lands 
from $30 to $50. 

Ada county's public schools are excellent. There 
are in the county outside of Boise 40 schools and 
over 2000 pupils. The value of this school property 



—12— 

is $350,000. The average wages of teachers is $61. 
Text books free. 

All the important religious denominations are 
well represented. Roads are good and mail facili- 
ties abundant. Five rural deliveries are in opera- 
tion and more available when needed. 

The county has a fine court house and grounds 
valued at $150,000. 

Franchises have been granted to build and oper- 
ate electric lines on both sides of the Boise river to 
connect Boise with Star, Middleton, Emmet t, Pearl. 
Horseshoe Bend and the mines along the Payette 
river, Meriden, Nampa, Caldwell and Parma, reach- 
ing finally to Payette and Weiser. 

A creamery is now in operation at Star and a 
beet sugar factory has been located at Meridian, 
Ada countv. 



BOISE. 

Boise is the capitol of the State and the county 
seat. It is located midway between Portland Ore- 
gon, and Salt Lake, Utah, on the Oregon Short Line 
railroad. It is the commercial, political and educa- 
tional metropolis ot Idaho. 

Its altitude is 2800 feet; its population from 
16,000 to 18,000 and rapidly increasing. 

Laid out in 1863, it has made substantial 
growth steadity ever since, and though never hav- 
ing experienced a "boom" is recognized as one of 
the most prosperous and progressive cities on the 
Pacific coast, 



-14- 



Boise is the richest town per capita in the Unit- 
ed States, and the healthiest as determined by gov- 
ernment statistics. 

It is a city of sunshine, birds and flowers. Nest- 
ling in an amphitheater of sheltering hills, it is free 
from severe winds and storms. It has the lowest 
wind velocity of any weather bureau city in the 
United States except one. 

It is a city of beautiful homes, schools and 
churches; substantial public buildings, solid and beau- 
tiful business blocks, and all kinds of modern im- 
provements. 

Ten large public school buildings equipped with 
every educational appliance, are devoted to the edu- 
cation of Boise's children. There are sixty-five 
teachers and nearly 4000 pupils. There are two bus- 
iness colleges, two boarding schools for young la- 
dies and one school for boys, private enterprises. 

Boise is the only city in the world heated and 
sprinkled, with hot water. The hot water is sup- 
plied by artesian wells and is 170 degrees Fahren- 
heit. This water is used in the Natatorium, which is 
the Tah Mahal of Idaho's capital. It is a hand- 
some building after an ancient Moorish structure, 
and with its plunge bath, its tub, Turkish and 
steam baths, elegant parlors, reading and dancing 
rooms and beautiful grounds is the most delightful 
summer and winter resort in the world. 

Boise has good electric light plants, and lately 
has added a gas company that supplies an artifi- 
cial gas for lighting and heating purposes. 

There is at present operating a splendid electric 
motor line that covers the city. 



-15— 

Boise's business district has asphalt streets and 
the entire city has cement walks. Much of the city 
is parked and this is being extended as rapidly as 
possible. 

The improvement of Boise Barracks will involve 
an expenditure of over a million dollars. This is 
now made a permanent military post and is regi- 
mental headquarters, provision being made for the 
accommodation of 1200 men. It is a cavalry post. 
A fine regimental band will be maintained and this 
will prove a very attractive resort for Boise. 

The Young Men's Christian Association owns a 
large building in the heart of the city, fitted up 
with a gymnasium, baths, and reading parlors. It 
has added a modern boys' department under a com- 
petent specialist. A lecture and musical course is 
sustained, both well patronized. 

Boise has five banks well capitalized and doing 
a large business. The bank deposits reach nearly 
$5,000,000. 

The latest public building is the Federal build- 
ing recently completed at a cost of $300,000. It is 
occupied by the post office and all the federal offices. 

When it is remembered that Boise is the resi- 
dence of all the State and Federal officials, the coun- 
ty officials, the supreme and district courts, and that 
many of the rich mining and stock men of the State 
build homes here and spend their money in Boise, 
and further that Boise is the supply and outfitting 
point for the rich mining districts adjacent, the 
shipping point for the large fruit industrv near by, 
and that a large part of the money from the mines, 
from the stock, the fruit, farming and dairying in- 
dustries sticks here one way and another, the im- 
portance of Boise as a money and industrial center 



16- 



can easily be seen as well as the reason why Boise 
is easily the metropolis of the State. 

A new capital building will be erected in Boise to 
cost approximately when completed a million dol- 
lars. 

The Barber Lumber company now have their 
plant nearly completed which involves a large out- 
lay, reacning nearly a million dollars and will em- 
ploy trom 500 to 1000 men. 

The government reclamation project involving 
an outlay of $7,500,000 in the Boise and Payette 
valleys and reclaiming thousands of acres ot valua- 
ble land; and the expenditure of $2,000,000 now be- 
ing made in the city in building and other improve- 
ments, the employment ot large numbers of men at 
good wages give an index to the present prosperity 
ot the city. 

It takes twenty-one people to handle the post 
office business. The receipts from all sources, includ- 
ing money order business, will reach two millions 
this year as against $1,702,980 last year. 

The assessed valuation ot property of all kinds 
in Boise is $5,695,601 but the real value will reacii 
$16,000,000. The tax levy on each $100 of assess- 
ed valuation is 13 mills on the dollar. 

The improvements made in Boise this year, in- 
clu lin* sewers, parking, sidewalks, etc., aggregate 
$400,000. 

The wool clip of the vicinity of which Boise is the 
center, is approximately 25,000,000 pounds. 

Boise has a prodigality of water power that 
makes all kinds of manufacturing easy. 

Boise is a place of marvelous opportunities. Its 
annual pay roll is over $2,000,000. 

Last year Boise had 343 days of sunshine out of 
the 365. 

It has two daily and several weekly papers, one 
magazine and one Odd Fellow paper. 

Hers are the strength and beauty ot the hills, the 
golden skies, the music and the dream of babbling 
waters, the soft winds treighted with the perfume of 
flowers — an ideal city in an ideal climate. 



18- 



Cassia County. 

Cassia County lies to the south of Snake river in 
the south central portion of the State. Stock 
raising occupies a large place in the business of the 
community. Early irrigation was confined to tracts 
lying along the heads of a number of small streams. 
Today Cassia County is the scene ot greater activhVy 
along irrigation lines than any other county in the 
United States. 

The great Twin Falls canal occupies the entire 
northwestern border of the county. The tract which 
it will reclaim embraces 270,000 acres of magnificent 
agricultural land. The combined length of the can- 
als and laterals is over 1000 miles. The main canal 
is 26 miles in length and 80 feet wide at the bottom. 
What are known as the high line and low line canals 
are 40 ieet wide at the bottom. The height of the 
dam is 76 feet and a sufficient amount of water has 
been appropriated to furnish an abundant supply for 
the acreage. The water right is unquestioned and 
the flow of the river is sufficient to meet the require- 
ments of all who own riparian rights below the dam. 

The lands under the Twin Falls canal are 
Lands being placed on the market through the 
medium of the Twin Falls Investment company, of 
which C. B. Hurtt of Boise is president, I. B. Perrine 
of Blue Lakes, vice-president and general western 



—19- 



manager, R. M. McCollun, of Twin Falls City secre- 
tary George F. Sprague of Twin Falls City treasur- 
er. Tins company ls the sole agent for the disnosal 
of water rights, lands and town lots 

land°h e ve Und r d H and , tWenty - five th ° USand *™» of 

*and?„ \w r I ^ Cntered Under this «nal. 
-and ,„ th,s tract can be secured by making entry 

at the State land office at Twin Falls. Thelnd "s 
deeded to the State under the terms ot the C ar e y 
Act and by t he state to the gettler No cy 

take more than 160 acres. The land and perpetna" 

S£te £ C ° StS $25 - 5 ° PCr aCre > the ^payment 
being $3 25 per acre and the balance of the pay 

mentsfalhng due during a period of ten years and 

beanng six percent, interest. This tract^among 

the finest large bodies of irrigable lands in the West* 

Imat is U mild. ""^ ^ 35 °° ^ ^ ^ 
The Minidoka and Southwestern Railway a 
branch ot the Oregon Short Line from MinMoka 
will be completed through the Twin Falls tract to 
Twin Falls City by August 1st, 1905. 

The City of * year a S° Twin Falls City was a 

Twin Falls /f ert Wlth not a house in «ght, today 
it has a population of two thousand 
A three-story $70,000 hotel will be completed Aue 
ust 1st. A National Bank has been organised ami' 
is constructing a $25,000 building. \ $30 000 
school house is under construction and six teacC 
are employed A telephone exchange is in operation 
and an electric light plant is now being installed 

Electric ** e j!£™ power P lant - h^ing a capacity 
Power ° ^0° ho^e Power, is now being erected 

the City „ tT aIS ; fiVe mileS no rthea S t of 

the Cm ot Twin Falls. A fall of two hundred feet 











? 






-22- 

in Snake river affords a magnificent power at this 
point. 

•»• •■ . The Minidoka irrigation project, in 
Minidoka , ,.,, i + - • 

charge of the reclamation service, covers 

Project* several thousand acres in the northeast- 
ern portion of the county. The government canals 
are now under construction. 

The new and thriving town of Burley, 
Burley fi rst se ttled in May, 1905, is the chief rail- 
road point of eastern Cassia county and will shortly 
be the center of an immense area of irrigated lands. 
An electric railway is projected from Burley to Oak- 
ley, a distance of 20 miles. 

The history of the Twin Falls irrigation 
Historical p ro ject is a story of the highest quality 
of engineering skill ministering to the highest quality 
of capitalistic enterprise. To several persons is as- 
cribed the credit for having first drawn attention to 
the possibilities of the project. Many years ago, A. 
D. Foote, the engineer who surveyed the New York 
canal, declared that the irrigation of the tract was 
feasible and should be profitable from a commercial 
standpoint. 

I. B. Perrine of Blue Lake who, with ropes low- 
ered his wagons and machinery down the precipit- 
ous cliffs of the Snake River Canyon and reclaimed a 
small earthly paradise along the banks of the river, 
was the first man who took steps to launch the pro- 
ject. He interested D. W. Ross, then state engineer 
and now chief engineer of the reclamation service in 
Idaho, and Mr. Ross was quick to perceive the prac- 
ticability of the idea. Mr. Ross made a preliminary 
survey and on the strength of his report, which was 
borne out in detail by later developments, a strong 



—23— 

company was formed to take up the project. Mr. 
Ross and Mr. Perrine went east and laid the proposi- 
tion before capitalists. It was not until some years 
later that S. B. Milner, F. H. Buhl and P. L. Kim- 
berly financed the enterprise and the project was 
assured. 

P. S. A. Bickel, chief engineer of the Twin Falls 
Land & Water company, first visited the tract in 
December, 1902. He made a report upon the dam 
and canals, and work was commenced on Februarj' 
1, 1903. Faris & Kesl were awarded the contract 
tor the dam and it is conceded that a more stable 
strucsure of the kind does not exist. Frank H. 
Buhl of Sharon, Pa., is the principal shareholder in 
the corporation and president of the company. As- 
sociated with him are P. L. Kimberly, Walter G. 
Filer, the general manager of the company, Colonel 
S. B. Milner, Frank Knox of Salt Lake and I. B. 
Perrine of Blue Lakes. The project involved an out- 
lay of approximately $2,500,000. 

M f To the exclusion of other important 

matters, much of the space allotted 
Resources to Cassia county is devoted to the 
great Twin Falls irrigation works. The magnitude 
of this enterprise more than justifies the considera- 
tion it receives. But it must not be forgotten that 
all of Cassia county is in the Sunland of Idaho. Its 
soil is rich and deep, its climate mild and delightful. 
It offers every adavantage to the homeseeker that 
may elsewhere be found. The falls of Snake river 
herein shown will provide practically unlimited cheap 
power making for marvelous manufacturing and in- 
dustrial activities, in the near future. 



1 






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1 w { 

I 

^h ink ' * 

1 Is 


1 



-25- 



Canyoi\ County. 

THIS county lies in the heart of the Sunland of 
Idaho. The Snake river forms the southern and 
western boundary. The Boise and Payette rivers 
run diagonally through it in a northwesterly direc- 
tion about twenty miles apart. These rivers paral- 
lel each other in their entire course through the 
county and empty into the Snake within the county. 
Each has its source in high mountain ranges to the 
east and the tall of the country is such that without 
great difficulty the water of one river may be divert- 
ed into the valley of the other. The Payette is by 
far the more reliable and dependable stream. It is 
fed by the Payette lakes, two beautiful sheets of 
water reposing in the mountain heights. Its flow 
throughout the year is steady and uniform and of 
volume in excess of any demands that can be made 
on it by the land within its own valley. .A. remark- 
ably happy feature of the Payette is that it is dis- 
charged from the lakes through a narrow, rocky 
gorge which may be easily dammed so as to raise 
the surface of the lakes to any desired height, thus 
forrmng a natural storage basin of ample capacity. 
The Boise river, on the other hand, is subject to 
fluctuations. The flow during the months of May, 
June and July being much greater than during the 
other months of the year. The habit of the river at 
once suggests storage, and while nature provided no 



-27- 

such favorable condition as on the Payette, there is 
opportunity for economical storage in the valley at 
no great distance from the river and nothing to pre- 
vent the construction of feed canals to divert any 
desired quantity of the flood water into reservoirs. 
The important feature is that the rivers combined 
afford a suppty largely in excess of all possible re- 
quirements, and the waters of one may be made to 
reinforce the other. 

On March 27, 1905, the Secretary of the Interior 
of the United States approved what is known as 
the Boise- Pa3^ette Valley Government Irrigation 
project and appropriated from the reclamation fund 
one million three hundred thousand dollars with 
which to begin constructive operations. This great 
project contemplates lurnishing an all season water 
supply to about 275,000 acres of new land, and a 
part season supply to 100,000 acres which are 
already tilled but sometimes fail to attain full pro 
ductive capacity because of low water during the 
month of August. The project naturally divides 
itself into two grand systems, the one deriving its 
water supply from the Payette river and covering 
the larger body of arable land on the north side ot 
the Boise valley the other deriving its supply from 
the Boise river and covering the lesser body on the 
south side. All of the 275,000 acres of new land is 
subject to the free homestead law; that is tosa\ r ,any 
American citizen who has not already exhausted his 
homestead right, may take up 160 acres of this land 
and, upon compliance with the law, get a deed for it 
from the government at no cost other than the pay- 
ment of a small tee to the land office. The water 
though is not tree. The government constructs the 
works necessary to securing the water, charges the 



-28- 

actual cost against the land and then allows the 
homesteader ten years, without interest, in which to 
make repayment. The estimated cost of the entire 
project is approximately ten millions of dollars to be 
prorated among the 375,000 acres. The north side 
system contemplates storage in the Payette lakes, 
diverting the water at a suitable point from the 
river, thence through canals to the land to be served. 
The south side contemplates a series of storage reser- 
voiis in the Boise valley with feed and distributing 
canals. The natural water supply is abundant. All 
that is needed is to save a portion of the early season 
surplus for use later on. 

Of the 275,000 acres of new land to be reclaimed 
by these works about two-thirds lie in Canyon coun- 
ty, and Caldwell, the county seat, is headquarters 
for the transaction of all business connected with 
this great enterprise. 

The $1,300,000 appropriated, that is, 
set aside to be immediately expended in 
rial constructing the works, is to be used on 

the south side system and the first work to be un- 
dertaken is the Deer Flat storage reservoir. The site 
lies in the southern part ot Canyon county, about 
midway between the towns of Nampa and Caldwell. 
This reservoir will constitute the largest artificial 
body of water in the world, holding 170,000 acre 
teet; in other words, a quantity of water sufficient to 
cover 170,000 acres a foot deep. The preliminary 
surveys and engineering investigations are practical 
ly completed, there remaining to be adjusted only 
some details which are in the hands of the people. 
The statement is authorized by Mr. J. H. Lowell, 
president of the Water Users' Association, that, in 



—29— 

his judgment, all preliminaries will be settled and 
contracts let so that actual construction may begin 
in the spring of 1906. The completion of the Deer 
Flat reservoir will afford the south side of the Boise 
valley a water supply sufficient to meet all demands 
for some years to come. It is understood to be the 
intention of the Government Reclamation officers to 
make another appropriation very soon for commenc- 
ing operations on the north side. This work will be 
pushed on the entire project as rapidly as funds per- 
mit and the conditions of settlement and develop- 
ment require. It is estimated that both systems 
will be completed in five years, during which time 
ten millions ol dollars will be expended in this 
county. 

D The valley of the Payette is rich in natural 

y resources. Its climate is mild and health 

Valley m j. j ts so |j deep and fertile. It has an 
abundant water supply and adequate irrigation sys- 
tems already in operation. Although but a traction 
of the land susceptible of cultivation has been 
brought to a productive state, the sum of the pro- 
ducts is enormous. The evidence of this productive- 
ness is seen in the size and flourishing condition of 
the towns of the valley. Emmett at the upper end 
and Payette at the lower end are constantly under 
stress to keep up with the increasing business de- 
mands of the surrounding country. Both afford 
splendid opportunities for new business ventures in 
almost every line. Tht Payette is a very busy valley 
from end to end. In it are fruit evaporators, can- 
neries, saw mills and creameries, all young, all grow- 
ing, all busy. Arrangements are complete for the 
erection of a sugar factory at the town of Payette 



—30— 

which will be in condition to handle next (1906) 
season's beet crop. It will be a million dollar plant, 
and contracts have been signed up for the cultiva- 
tion of 5,000 acres ot sugar beets. Payette is locat- 
ed at the conjunction of the Payette and Snake 
rivers. It is on the main line of the Oregon Short 
Line railway and is certainly destined to become a 
place ot great commercial and industrial importance. 

Payette has electric lights, long distance and 
local exchange telephone service, rural mail deliv- 
eries, good hotels, banks, etc.; but it is merely in the 
beginning of its career; yet, has advanced sufficient- 
ly to demonstrate that it rests on a substantial 
base, and will go on growing for many years to 
come. 

. Most of the Boise valle}^ lies in Canyon 

county. Certain small portions of it have 
Valley reached a very high state of cultivation, 
but, in the main, development is just beginning. 
Enough has been done, however, to demonstrate the 
possibilities. In ever}^ part, fruits, vegetables, ce- 
reals and grasses grow vigorously, yield abundantly, 
and attain a high degree of perfection in flavor and 
size. There is no occasion to dwell at any length on 
the products of this or any other section of Can3'on 
count} T . Whatever grows in a temperate or semi- 
tropical zone grows here, yields luxuriently and 
ripens perfectly. The old prejudice against sage 
brush lands has been swept from every intelligent 
mind by the force of demonstrated facts. It is waste- 
ful of time to keep on forever proclaiming in print 
what the Boise and Payette valleys produce. Any- 
body who wants to know can get substantial know- 
ledge — from peaches to peanuts, wheat to watermel- 



—31— 

ons, apples to apricots, alfalfa to almonds — for the 
mere asking Everybody now knows what has been 
done in Sunland. On that knowledge everybody is 
able to intelligent^ judge of what may be done in 
any portion of it. There is but one question that 
anybody is asking, that is, "Is there room there for 
me?" There is room and plenty of room for those 
who make haste. In the Boise valley in Canvon 
county are thousands of acres of excellent land 
which may be secured on easy terms, at reasonable 
prices, or, if preferred, there are homestead oppor- 
tunities. Unimproved land with water right is go- 
ing at $25 to $35 an acre. Improved land, at any* 
where from $75 to $300 and even $500, depending on 
location and character ol improvements. In this 
locality there is no more profitable industrj^ than 
improving the raw land. While, on the other hand, 
there is no more profitable investment than pur- 
chasing impr >ved properties. In the first case 
muscle and r'dn are turned into cash at a hand- 
some profit; ri the second, cash, into muscle and 
brain food at a handsome profit. Nampa and Cald- 
well are the principal towns in the Boise valley in 
Canyon county. Nampa is at the junction of three 
or four railroads and the point at which the Boise 
branch leaves the Oregon Short Line. It has the 
finest hotel in the west, elcetric light, waterworks, 
complete telephone service, rural mail deliveiy, a 
foundry and machine shop, concrete factory, and 
will have a sugar factory ready to handle the 1906 
beetcrcp. Nampa is a rustling town, full of vim 
and enterprise. Around it is a magnificent farming 
country that will support a commercial community 
many times larger than Nampa is at present. 

Caldwell is the county seat and, naturally, in 
the minds of its own citizens, the metropolis to be- 



—32— 

The town is building up rapidly and substantially. 
It has two of the strongest banks in the State, 
fine hotels, electric lights, waterworks, sewers, tele- 
phone, rural mail deliveries, and this fall will be 
built a $75,000 court house. Caldwell is the natur- 
al center of an extremely large territory, including 
the great stock raising regions of eastern Oregon. 
Among its industries are brickmaking, concrete 
building blocks, a large creamery, a broom factory 
and a packing house. 

There are other flourishing places, not quite so 
large yet, but growing prodigiously. There is Par- 
ma, with hotels, a bank and a newspaper. New 
Plymouth, the ideal rural town, on the Payette, 
Roswell, and Middleton, and Notus on the Boise, all 
sturdy villages. 

Everywhere in this county there is something 
doing. There they are building sugar factories, here 
a court house, over yonder a church or school house. 
In every town two or three story brick or concrete 
business blocks and numerous handsome residences 
are constantly going forward. In the country, 
the plow and the grubbing hoe, the post hole 
digger and the barbed wire stretcher, are thick 
and busy. People are on the go all the time and full 
ol business. And they are such a happy lot. Every 
man of them acts as though he had just struck a 
bonanza. Everyone of them thinks he has found the 
best place in the world. Canyon county unquestion- 
ably affords abundant opportunities to achieve suc- 
cess in almost all lines ol human endeavor. 



—33- 



Elmore Comity. 

THE development of that portion of Sunland em- 
braced within the boundaries of Elmore county 
was slow for some years because of a lack of irriga- 
tion works, but the lack is being rapidly supplied and 
recently development has been very marked. But 
the county is still in its infancy and its possibilities, 
which are truly marvelous, are yet but faintly ap- 
preciated. In his last annual report the then Com-, 
missioner of Immigration, Labor and Statistics, 
speaking of one section of Elmore county, said: 
"The southern boundary is described by the Snake 
river, along which is found a wide stretch of fertile 
valley land that extends back from the river tor 
many miles, and forms one of the most desirable 
tracts of unoccupied land that is found within the 
the State," And added ot the whole county: "The 
soil is very deep and fertile, the climate all that could 
be desired, and the Oregon Short Line railroad 
affords the necessary transportation ior crops and 
farm products. 

There are ninteen postoffices in the county which 
are reached by stage from Mountainhome. The 
settlers are a thritty class of people who are rapidly 
improving their farms and laying foundations for 
good homes, and it is expected that 30,000 acres of 
the most fertile land in the Snake river valley will be 



—35- 

provided with water and thrown open to entry dur- 
ing the fall of 1905 and spring of 1906. 

Between 350,000 and 400,000 head of sheep are 
sheared there annually and the wool crop of the 
county sold this year for about $600,000. About 
200,000 head of lambs are shipped from Elmore 
county to eastern markets, and some of the largest 
sheep and cattle men in the State reside in the vicin- 
ity of Mountainhome. 

The count} 7 contains 126 miles of irrigation can- 
als that have been constructed at an expense of 
$532,200 and cover 38 s 480 acres of land. In addi- 
tion, about $250,000 has to this time been expended 
upon a new system. It is owned by the Great 
Western Beet Sugar Company, and, at present, is be- 
ing extended to the interior of the county, tapping 
Dixie, Cat, Camas and Lime creeks. The company 
has a storage reservoir two miles north of Mountain- 
home which stores in all about 10,000 acre feet of 
water, and another known as Long Tom Reservoir 
fifteen miles north of the town which stores about 
15,000 acre feet. This last named reservoir was 
completed in February this year. A canal thirt\ T 
miles in length is now being built to connect the 
heretofore named creeks and drain their flood waters 
into this and other reservoirs that are being built. 

The Camas reservoir, 35 miles north of Mountain- 
home, is now being constructed and when complete, 
will control about 30,000 acre feet of water. The 
surveys for another reservoir site have been made on 
High Prairie, which, when completed, will store 
200,000 acre feet. It is the intention ot the company 
to build a canal leading from the High Prairie reser- 
voir to Lime Creek, and when this is reached, an 



—36— 

abundant and never failing supply of water is assured. 
The available water supply for the country tributary 
to Mountainhome was recently investigated by Mr. 
Graves of Graves & King, civil engineers, of Boise. 
Mr. Graves is confident that a water supply is avail- 
able to irrigate 100,000 acres of land in the vicinity 
of Mountainhome. 

Fruits of all kinds do well and are ex- 
rroatlCtS tensively grown. Alfalfa, of which hay 
is made to feed thousands of head of cattle owned 
there, is the chief crop grown. The assessed valua- 
tion of the county for 1905 was a little over $1,000- 
000. The agricultural lands of Elmore county that 
are now under cultivation are confined to the valleys 
that open out along the streams throughout the 
central part of the county and streams tributary to 
the Snake river. 

The northern part of the count}' is mountainous 
and covered with timber. The central portions are 
covered with a rich growth of natural grasses and 
provide a summer range for thousands of sheep and 
cattle. 

Mining is an important industry of El- 
Mmes more county, and has taken on renewed 
activity within the last few years. Many properties 
which were thought to be practically exhausted are, 
under improved methods, proving to be very profit- 
able producers, and new discoveries of rich mines are 
being made. The Franklin mine, in the Pine Grove 
district, after lying idle ten years, has again become 
a heavy producer. Atlanta, one of the oldest mining 
camps in the State, is showing up splendidly Devel- 
opment work in the great quartz veins is going on 



—37— 

with great vigor. New mills are in process of con- 
struction and ore shipments will soon begin. The 
Skeleton Creek district, with its great bodies ot silver 
and lead ores, is attracting the attention of mining 
men all over the country. The Black Warrior dis- 
trict, which is a late discovery, is proving much 
richer th n at first expected. New ore bodies are be- 
ing uncovered and assays of $300 a ton are not 
extraordinary. The celebrated ''Gold Bug" mine is 
in this district. The Neal is probably the best knowi^ 
of the more recently discovered mining districts oi 
this county. In it are located the "Golden Eagle," 
"Hidden Treasure^" "Home Stake," "Ella Hill," and 
"The Daisy. " • These are productive properties and 
constantly increasing in .richness. In this district 
three mills are already in^operation. 

The extent to whi :h mining the precious metals 
is now prosecuted insures a reatly high-priced mar- 
ket to most of the agricultural products of the coutt- 
ty. It is quite certain that mining development will 
keep step with, if it does not outstrip, agricultural 
development. Hence the farmers and stockgrowers 
of Elmore county will always enjoy the great advan- 
tage of a constant and ever increasing home market 
for their products. 

Mountainhome is the county seat 
Mountainhome Q f Elmore county. It is situated 

on the main line of the Oregon Short Line railroad, 
which crosses the southern end of the county in a 
northwesterly direction. It has a population oi 
about 1500 people and is one of the most prosperous 
young towns ot the State. Most all of the relig- 
ious denominations are represented by well organiz- 
ed churches. The town boasts of a four-story, brick 



-39- 



hotel with 73 first class rooms. The town also sup- 
ports three weekly newspapers, two banks and four 
large mercantile houses. 




The educational facilities are abundant and first 
class in every particular. The public school house is 
one of the very best in the State, affording ample 
room and being well equipped with modern educa- 
tional appliances. Nine teachers are employed and 
good salaries are paid. 



-40- 

Few towns present as attractive an appearance 
as Mountainhome. The site is ideal, the streets are 
broad and lined with beautiful shade trees. Every- 
thing about it suggests comfort and coziness. A 
stud3' of the rich and varied resources of Elmore 
county — its mines of precious metals, its great live 
stock ranges, its deep and fertile soil, its natural 
water supply and its delightful climate— will convince 
anyone that Mountainhome must eventually become 
one of the most important cities of Sunland, because 
it is the natural center and distributing point for an 
exceptionally large and productive area. 

The irrigation systems of Elmore county, when 
completed, will be superior in many respects. To 
some extent those systems which depend on running 
streams for water supply are subject to fluctuations. 
In spring time, a sudden warm spell may melt the 
mountain snows rapidly and swell the valley streams 
to excessive proportions. At such times great quan- 
tities of water run to waste at the expense of the late 
season supply. The Elmore county systems, con- 
sisting largely of reservoirs, in great measure over- 
come this difficulty. With them it makes little differ- 
ence whether the snow melts rapidly or slowly in 
springtime. They impound all the water and dis- 
charge it at just the time and in the quantities needed. 



-41 



Washington County. 

OF all the magnificent counties of Sunland, none 
excels Washington. It is nearly 80 miles long 
and averages about 40 miles wide. On each side is 
a chain ot mountains and hills, while down through 
the center flows the Weiser river, which, from its 
course to its confluence with the Snake river at 
Weiser, is one succession of beautiful valleys backed 




by rolling grazing lands and these by timbered moun- 
tains. The north end of the county is covered by 
magnificent forests of commercial timber, while the 
south end has vast tracts of fruit and agricultural 
lands. The chain of hills and mountains on the east 



-42— 

side are feeding grounds for herds of cattle, horses 
and sheep. The chain on the west is one great min- 
eral belt of gold, silver, lead and copper. 

The soil is a sandy loam, compounded with 
SOU volcanic ash, deep, rich and almost inex- 
haustible. Lands that have been cropped 25 years 
are as productive today as when first seeded. No- 
where can be found greater vegetable and cereal 
yields; nowhwhere do orchards come into bearing 
quicker, yield ht avier or show a finer quality of pro- 
duct. 



The following table indicates the product- 
Yields iveness of Washington county soil when 
properly handled: 

Pftc Acre 

Hay 7 tons 

Potatoes 500 bushels 

Onions 800 bushels 

Wheat 40 bushels 

Oats 80 bushels 

Barley 70 bushels 

Watermelons :. 12 tons 

Cantaloupes 200 crates 

Strawberries 200 crates 

Raspberries 100 crates 

Blackberries 100 crates 

Dewberries 200 crates 

Apples (7-year trees) ..500 boxes 

Prunes 8 tons 

. . Improved lands within four miles of Weiser 

a can be bought tor $50 to $100 per acre 

Values w ith water; and lour to five miles out at 
$35 to $50. Unimproved lands, cheaply and easily 
brought under cultivation, with water, can be had 
at $25 to $50. Other lands, about to be brought 
under irrigation, but will raise some crops without, 
can be had for $10 to $30 per acre. 



—43— 



Stock ranches, suitable for horses, cattle or sheep, 
with government range adjoining, and will produce 
hay and other crops, can be had for $1200 to $5000 
in quarter section tracts. 

Fruit land, already planted to bearing orchards 
and now shipping fruit, can be secured at $75 to 
$150 per acre. Any of the other classes of lands can 
be p' anted to orchards if desired. 

General farms in any of the adjacent vallej'S 
north of Weiser reached by the P. & I. N. railway 




can be purchased for $20 to $40 per acre, according 
to improvements. They are unexcelled for stock 
ranches or general farming. 

Is a flourishir g town of 3000 population 
Weiser on ^h.e banks of the Weiser and Snake 
rivers at their confluence. It is the commercial cen- 
ter of a rich and extensive surrounding country, 
also the county seat. In ten years it has trebled in 
population, built many large business blocks, install- 



44- 



ed a $40,000 city water and light plant, which speak 
louder than words of the solid backing it has in the 
splendid teiritory surrounding it. Weiser is blessed 




with some of the m )st up-to-date mercantile houses 
in the west, good banking facilities and in a business 
way it is able to meet every demand that can be 



—45 



made upon it Socially and educationally it can 
meet all ordinary requirements, and the most f stid 
ious in that respect may locate here in the lull know 
ledge that their children can have the same home 
advantages as in the older communities of the east 




and middle west. A competent corps ol teachers is 
employed in the graded public schools. A $25,000 
central high school building has just been completed, 
the $12,000 structure which has been the main build- 



-46— 



ing until the present time will be remodeled, and 
next year (1906) a third brick structure costing 
$5,000 will replace a present $2,000 wooden build- 
ing, making three first-class public school buildings, 
aggregating over $50,000. [n addition to the pub- 
lic schools, theie are the Weiser Academy, which is 
to be reopened under the auspices of the Congrega- 
tional Educational Society, and the Idaho Industrial 
Institute, the latter offering the opportunity for 
energetic boys and girls to work their way through 
school. Of religious denominations there are seven 
which have erected church edifices. All have resident 



~ 



SUBURBAN HOME, WRTSER, IDAHO 




pastors and are engaged in active work All leading 
secret societies are represented and have strong 
memberships. The Odd Fellows, Masons and 
Knights of Pyihias own handsome and costly build- 
ings. Weiser is fast becoming a city of model, mod- 
ern homes, as it is centrally located and convenient 
to so vast an extent of country that men engaged in 
mining, timber or live stock operations, far or near, 
find this the proper place to locate their families and 
have their homes and headquarters. The number of 
handsome residences are constantly and rapidly in- 
creasing. Real estate is constantly advancing and 



-47- 



has gone up, in many instances, 500 to 1000 per 
cent in the past five years. Weiser is the gateway 
to all the great grazing, mining and timbering dis- 
tricts extending north and northwest into Thunder 
Mountain and the heart of Idaho. 



w* * * * Northward up the Weiser Valley he a 
Extent of c }~ ,. r , n /*. , „ 

succession of beautiful valleys: Middle, 

Country Salubria, Indian and Council. They 
range from three to six miles wide and from ten to 
fifteen miles long. with the smaller valleys and 
grazing land adjacent they are capable of sustaining 
six times the population they now contain. In cli- 
mate they are similar to the Weiser valley and are 
especially adapted to raising grasses, cereals and the 
hardier fruits. 

Council, the farthest away, is reached by the P. 
I. & N. railway, 60 miles long, which passes through 
the others on the way. This railway connects with 
the main line at Weiser. Beyond Council, 30 miles, 
lies the beautiful mountain valley of Meadows, con- 
taining 90,000 acres, an ideal stock and dairying 
section to which the railway will shortly extend. 
Adjoining these valleys are the low lying hills on 
which range cattle, horses and sheep; back of these 
rise the timbered ranges, in the heart of which are 
great mineral belts now being developed. The for- 
ests supply various kinds of valuable timber which 
in time will furnish a mighty industry in that line. 
Around the valley of Meadows alone there are 400 
million feet of saw timber. The development of this 
and the mining industry will supply a large home 
market for the products of the Weiser and Snake val- 
leys at top cash prices. 



—48— 

When one contemplates the extent of 
Possibilities ^he possibilities of the territory men- 
tioned, in supporting population, through its diver- 
sified resources and range, mountain and valley 
opportunities, and its complete union of soil, climate 
and physical elements susceptible of the highest utili- 
zation by man, he is really astonished. An area of 
country which now contains less than 20,000 souls 
is fully capable of sustaining 200,000 without the 
slightest possibility of oppressive congestion. No 
line of husbandry here has ever approached its pos- 
sibilities. It is true the lands are all practically 
taken and owned under the various acts of congress, 
but land is so fertile that forty to eighty acres is as 
much as the best farmer cares to look after, and 
those holding more have the surplus lying idle and 
are willing to sell it at reasonable figures — and in the 
cutting up of large tracts into smaller individual 
farms lies the future expansion and wealth oi this 
county. 

The entire county has an excellent water 
Water supply and irrigation systems are well ad- 
vanced. The country for 20 miles west and 12 miles 
east of Weiser is largely within an irrigation district 
formed under State laws. Within the district all 
lands are equally entitled to water and the cost is 
the cost of the system and actual maintenance. At 
present this is only $1.15 per acre, but this will be 
gradually reduced to less than half. All the irriga- 
tion systems of this county, in some form or other, 
are owned by the farmers, hence water is supplied at 
the lowest possible cost. 



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